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“You were in here last time.”Steven blinks slowly at the girl, hand poised over his register. He was just here to make minimum wage, wanted to get through each customer as quickly as possible so he could go home and work on his thesis. His boss was constantly threatening to cut his hours, and the shift supervisor who was supposed to be keeping an eye on the lobby with Steven was out in the back smoking a cigarette. All of this to say, his shift at Burger-Burger, the small town’s infamous fast-food joint, didn’t need a girl coming in saying weird things.“I work here every Tuesday,” Steven shrugs, “now what would you like to order?”Tuesday… why was it Tuesday again? It was Tuesday yesterday, when Sarah watched her beloved girlfriend die at the hands of a deranged serial killer. It was Tuesday yesterday, when Sarah barely escaped with her life from said serial killer. It was Tuesday yesterday, when after finally being released from the police station, Sarah made her way to Burger-Burger for some food.And now it was Tuesday again, when Sarah relived her life all over.“I’ll take a large number one combo,” she sighs, “with a milkshake.”It’s exactly what she ordered yesterday, Tuesday, and today, also Tuesday. She wonders if she wakes up will she have to order it again tomorrow, Tuesday as well. It can’t keep being Tuesday, she doesn’t even like Tuesdays, much less this specific Tuesday of running away from a serial killer.~*~The next day, Sarah wakes up to see that it is, once again, Tuesday. She calls her girlfriend, Eliza, trying to convince her to come home tomorrow, instead.“Sarah, no way!” Eliza exclaims over the phone. “I’ve had this train ticket booked for months; I can’t just trade it in.”“But tomorrow-”“Are you cheating on me?” Eliza accuses, and Sarah realizes there’s no getting out of this. Eliza is going to come in on the train at 4:35pm, at 4:40pm they’ll hear the first screams, and for the next six hours try to run for their lives from a serial killer. There’s nothing Sarah can do to keep Eliza from coming in.She could not go to the train station, but the first person to get stabbed was right next to Eliza and Sarah, and there was no telling if Eliza would have run on her own. The last two times she was frozen in fear on the platform, only running when Sarah gripped her hand and dragged them away.So, she’s doomed forever to repeat this damn day, losing her girlfriend over and over. And even the burgers at the end are only mediocre.~*~Huh, de ja vu, Steven thinks, pulling on his Burger-Burger shirt after giving it a good sniff-test. He can get another use out of it before he has to do laundry. At least Wednesday is his day off.It sucks, though, he thinks, because he feels like this is the third time he’s relived Tuesday. It’s impossible, he knows, and he chalks it up to the strange dreams he’s been having. They’ve been about work more often than not, so he just needs to accept that it’ll feel like an eternity at Burger-Burger now.An eternity at Burger-Burger… god that was Steven’s worst nightmare.Toward the middle of his shift, late enough that not a lot of people are around, he sees a woman come in, bloodied and bruised. It doesn’t seem like most of the blood is hers, at least, so Steven counts that as a win. Maybe she’s the serial killer he’s heard so much about. Could she be the one to take him away from the nightmare of greasy burgers and Karens?His shift manager is out back having a smoke, and he has his hands poised to ring her order. He’s not going to point out the blood just yet, figuring she’ll mention it in due time. “Welcome to Burger-Burger, what would you like to order today?”“You’re here,” the woman sighs, and Steven wonders if they’ve met before. This feels oddly familiar. “You’re always here.”“Every Tuesday, ma’am,” he nods, pointing to the menu above him. “Now what would you like to order?”“I’ll take a large number one combo with a milkshake,” she sighs with resignation, like she doesn’t want the food. But Steven isn’t paid to give people what they want, just what they ordered.In the end, she doesn’t seem to be a serial killer, and Steven continues his dreadful life at Burger-Burger.“Have a burger-tastic day,” he waves as she leaves with her food.~*~The next day, also a Tuesday, Sarah enters Burger-Burger covered in more blood than before. She fought harder to save Eliza, to no avail. It’s not that she wants to be a hero and save everyone from the killer, though the thought has crossed her mind. But by now, she’s only focused on saving her girlfriend.And yet each night they never make it out together.Tonight, Sarah even tried to attack the serial killer before he murdered the first victim, hence her own wounds. The police kept her longer that night, claiming that they had to confirm she didn’t start the incident, but there wasn’t enough evidence to keep her the full night. She got her burger and milkshake as always, but this time she decided she’s going to tell the employee everything. What’s it going to hurt if time resets again, anyway?“I’ve been living the same day over and over,” she bemoans, taking a sip of her sweetened chocolate flavored drink. “I’m so done with it.”“I feel the same way,” Steven agrees, and Sarah takes a long moment before she realizes he doesn’t understand.“No, I mean literally. I’ve literally lived this day over and over. And so have you- you’re here every night, take the same order from me, never ask me why I’m covered in blood- which let’s be honest that’s a little strange, isn’t it?”Steven just shrugs. “I figure it’s none of my business. I get paid minimum wage to make you burgers and milkshakes. Do you want me to ask?”“I mean,” Sarah shrugs, “it would be kind of nice to know somebody cares.”“Okay. Why are you covered in blood?”“Because I escaped a serial killer. My girlfriend died- she dies every night, but I live somehow. I don’t know what to do!”“Have you tried killing your girlfriend first?” Steven asks with a shrug, and he gets an angry look from Sarah. “What? I’m just spit balling. It wouldn’t matter if you reset the night anyway, right?”Well, he doesn’t make no sense, Sarah thinks, and she decides to try that again the next night.And the next night, when she comes to get her burger and milkshake, she’s thrown off by the question Steven asks her while handing her the food.“Did it work?”“So, you know, too,” Sarah gasps, looking around. “When did you figure out we were in the time loop?”Steven just shrugs. “Did you kill her?”“Yes, and she’s still dead,” Sarah grumbles. “I barely made it out of the police custody, too. I had to blame it on the killer.”“I see,” Steven nods thoughtfully. “Well, that’s all the ideas I had.”“Some use you are,” Sarah huffs. “Have you even seen horror movies?”“I have,” Steven argues back. “It’s not like you’re making any more progress on your own. They don’t pay me to solve murderous time loops.”“Minimum wage, yeah I got it,” Sarah sighs, taking a sip of her milkshake. “You’re right, sorry to snap at you.”Steven shrugs again. “Not the first person tonight. I deal with the same Karens over and over every night- though recently it’s been literally. Usually, it just feels like it.”“Do you get tips?”“No luck.”“Well, see you tomorrow.”“See you tomorrow.”~*~Steven sniffs his work shirt, just like he does every morning. It’s not like the scent changes, and nobody ever notices he hasn’t done laundry yet. The time loop kind of sucks, but the fact he can get away with skipping laundry day for weeks on end seems kind of nice.He goes to Burger-Burger, waving at his shift supervisor when the man goes for his smoke break. He counts down the moments for the bloody girl to come inside, waving at her in an overly friendly manner when she does.“Who’s this?” he asks, noticing the girl next to Sarah, equally bloody, who appears more frightened but alive.“My girlfriend, Eliza,” Sarah answers with a grin. She finally, finally managed to save Eliza, after all of that work. And it didn’t matter if time reset again, she knew exactly how to get Eliza back next time.“You’re really excited for having barely escaped a serial killer,” the girl, Eliza, practically shrieks. Steven would ask them to stay quiet, but it’s not very busy in the Burger-Burger lobby so nobody seems to care. “Why are we here getting burgers, anyway?”“I’m hungry,” Sarah shrugs. “I didn’t realize how much it took to keep running away from a murderer.”“Keep?” Eliza raises a brow, looking between Sarah and Steven. “What exactly is going on here?”Steven decides to explain it, though he’s oversimplified in the way he does it. “You’re stuck in a time loop, repeating this Tuesday over and over. At least, Sarah and I are. We’ve become friends in that time. It’s the first time I’ve met you, though. So, I imagine the loop will be closed now.”“Oh, what are you? Some sort of time loop expert all of the sudden?” Eliza snaps, and Steven wonders if people are just mad because it’s a Tuesday. He’s mad it’s a Tuesday, too, so he doesn’t hold it against them.“Not really, that’s why I’m guessing. Do you want a milkshake, too?”Eliza seems at a loss for words, finally accepting the burger and milkshake that Steven offers. Sarah pays for them, taking them back to her place for the night. All will be perfect now, because Sarah knows the answer.~*~Steven wakes up to another Tuesday again, going through his simple routine over and over. He wonders if he should do laundry before work, but instead of that he simply reads his book. Laundry is a thing of the past now.It just sucks that Sarah’s going to have to save Eliza again. But they don’t pay Steven enough to do that himself. He hopes they can break the time loop soon, even if the no-laundry thing is awesome. Maybe next time they can time loop on one of his days off.He’s thinking about how nice it would be to have an infinite day off, when he accidentally breaks the milkshake machine. His boss yells at him, going out for a smoke as always. He blames Steven for his need to smoke, but Steven has lived this day too many times to believe anything his boss says. Because he goes out for a smoke no matter what.“No Eliza today?” Steven asks when he sees Sarah alone, bloody as usual.“It’s fine,” she sighs. “I made a mistake, but I’ll save her again tomorrow. You know, same old thing over and over, right?”“The milkshake machine broke,” Steven comments, pointing his thumb at the ‘out of order’ sign. “Is a soda okay?”“Why not,” Sarah shrugs, taking her dinner and heading home. She’ll save Eliza tomorrow, just like she plans.~*~When tomorrow comes, Sarah is prepared to live through Tuesday again. But the news is covering the attack yesterday- yesterday, which was Tuesday. Meaning today is Wednesday, meaning Eliza-Fuck! Sarah curses herself. Why did the girl have to die on the night she didn’t save her? She knew what to do, too, and yet-The milkshake machine broke, she remembers Steven saying.She shouldn’t have taken that soda. Oh gods, the soda was all she needed, and she didn’t take it until after Eliza was already dead.It’s fine, she tells herself, she’ll live through Tuesday again tomorrow. Except tomorrow is Thursday, then comes Friday, and Saturday afterward. Time moves forward, as if nothing ever happened. As if Sarah isn’t some sort of force that could bend the universe to her will.
It was all over.